Tenjo Sajiki
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese independent theater troupe led by Shūji Terayama
and active between 1967 and 1983 (until Terayama's death). A major phenomenon on the Japan
ese underground
scene, the group has produced a number of stage works marked by experimentalism, folklore
influences, social provocation, grotesque
eroticism
and the flamboyant fantasy characteristic of Terayama
's oeuvre. Tenjō Sajiki benefitted greatly from collaborations with a number of prominent artists, including musicians J. A. Seazer
and Kan Mikami
, and graphic designers Aquirax Uno
and Tadanori Yokoo
.
The name is from 天井桟敷の人々, the Japanese title of the film Children of Paradise
.
Shuji Terayama
was an avant-garde Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. According to many critics and supporters, he was one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to come out of Japan. He was born December 10, 1935, the only son of Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama in...
and active between 1967 and 1983 (until Terayama's death). A major phenomenon on the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese underground
Underground art
Underground art, as with underground music and underground film, is a term that seeks to describe art forms that are aloof to the mainstream art world, are illegal, taboo, unconventional, rebellious or revolutionary...
scene, the group has produced a number of stage works marked by experimentalism, folklore
Japanese folklore
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...
influences, social provocation, grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...
eroticism
Erotic art
Erotic art covers any artistic work that is intended to evoke erotic arousal or that depicts scenes of love-making. It includes paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, music and writing.-Definition:...
and the flamboyant fantasy characteristic of Terayama
Shuji Terayama
was an avant-garde Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. According to many critics and supporters, he was one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to come out of Japan. He was born December 10, 1935, the only son of Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama in...
's oeuvre. Tenjō Sajiki benefitted greatly from collaborations with a number of prominent artists, including musicians J. A. Seazer
J. A. Seazer
Julius Arnest Caesar, born , 6 October 1948), is a film and theater music composer. Seazer enjoyed popularity among students in Japan during the 1960s, and worked closely with director Shuji Terayama and his theater Tenjo Sajiki until Terayama's death...
and Kan Mikami
Kan Mikami
is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter. His music, heavily influenced by American blues, was popular in Japan in the 1970s. He re-wrote the lyric of the song "Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" for his cover version in 1972...
, and graphic designers Aquirax Uno
Aquirax Uno
is a Japanese graphic artist, illustrator and painter. His work is characterized by fantastic visuals, capricious and sensuous line flow, flamboyant eroticism, and frequent use of collage and bright colors...
and Tadanori Yokoo
Tadanori Yokoo
is a Japanese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter.Tadanori Yokoo, born in Nishiwaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, in 1936, is one of Japan's most successful and internationally recognized graphic designers and artists. He began his career as a stage designer for avant garde theatre in...
.
The name is from 天井桟敷の人々, the Japanese title of the film Children of Paradise
Children of Paradise
Les Enfants du Paradis, released as Children of Paradise in North America, is a 1945 French film by French director Marcel Carné, made during the German occupation of France during World War II...
.
1967
- The Hunchback of Aomori (青森県のせむし男)
- The Crime of Fatso Oyama (大山デブコの犯罪)
- Mink Marie (毛皮のマリー, La Marie-vison)
- Hanafuda denki (花札伝綺)
1968
- Shinjuku Tales of 1001 Nights (新宿版千一夜物語)
- Bluebeard (青ひげ)
- 伯爵令嬢小鷹狩掬子の七つの大罪
- Farewell, cinema! (さらば映画よ)
- 瞼の母
- 昭和白虎隊外伝
- Throw away your books, rally in the streets! (書を捨てよ街へ出よう)
- The Little Prince (星の王子さま)
1969
- Our age comes riding on a circus elephant (時代はサーカスの象に乗って)
- Inugami (犬神)
- The Crime of Dr. Caligari (ガリガリ博士の犯罪)
1970
- Yes (イエス)
- Baron Burabura (ブラブラ男爵)
- Tokyo Year Zero (東京零年)
- Man-powered plane Solomon (人力飛行機ソロモン)
Selected performances abroad
- 1969: Inugami and La Marie-vison in FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. - 1970: La Marie Vison at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York, with American actors and highly original staging (Eleonore Lester, There will be no audience, in New York Times, July 5, 1970, p. 12). The audience had to visit the actors in separate rooms, and could not see the entire performance.
- 1971: Heretics and Man-powered plane Solomon at Festival mondial de théâtre in Nancy; La Marie-vison at Théâtre des Halles in Paris and Heretics at Mickery Theatre in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and also in BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. - 1972: Hanafuda denki at Théâtre PigalleThéâtre PigalleThe Théâtre Pigalle was a theatre in Paris, located in the rue Pigalle in the ninth arrondissement.- History :Opened on June 20, 1929, financed by Philippe de Rothschild on the estate of his father Henri de Rothschild, the Rothschilds' ambition was to construct the most modern theatre in the world...
in Paris; Run, Melos! at Spielstrasse in Munich and The Opium War at Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam. - 1973: performances in Iran, the Netherlands and Poland.
- 1978: Directions to Servants at Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam.